The latest efforts to find a solution to Cayman’s ongoing landfill problem will see a government delegation head to Florida next week to tour waste management facilities in the sunshine state.
Cayman Islands Premier Alden McLaughlin and Osbourne Bodden, the minister responsible for the landfill issue, will be looking at waste-to-energy facilities.
Government hopes to be able to replace the unsightly Mount Trashmore with a modern facility turning trash into clean, renewable energy.
The sites that the politicians will be visiting convert household waste to power on a much larger scale than anything that is envisaged for Cayman.
One of the facilities, in Fort Myers, processes 1,836 tons of solid waste every day – generating nearly 60 megawatts of renewable energy – roughly two-thirds of Grand Cayman’s total power requirements.
The Cayman Islands generates significantly less waste – roughly 233 tons every day.
A more comparable insight of the potential power generation of waste to energy could come from Bermuda – which has a similar population to Cayman. Bermuda’s Tynes Bay waste management facility, which Mr. Bodden visited last year, produces five megawatts of clean, renewable energy. Mr. Bodden said the Florida trip was partly designed to learn about the processes used at some of the best facilities in the world.
The Lee County Solid Waste Resource Recovery Facility also has a recycling center.
“This facility in Lee County serves two counties and is considered Florida’s No. 1 facility and model. I am looking forward with great anticipation to learn a lot and see what we can look forward to here in just a couple of years. Cayman deserves no less,” said Minister Bodden.
The premier and minister are also scheduled to visit waste management facilities in Lake and Hillsborough counties. The Lake County facility processes 528 tons-per-day using two 264-tons-per-day water wall furnaces.
The trip is essentially a fact-finding mission on behalf of a committee set up to investigate and advise government on its options ahead of a formal procurement process for the development of waste management facilities in Cayman.
The fact-finding mission was criticized by the Chamber of Commerce for delaying the process of rectifying the landfill situation unnecessarily. But Premier McLaughlin said it was important to have detailed information before the process required by the Framework for Fiscal Responsibility begins.
“While there have been previous tenders, and there are quite a few studies about this subject, the fact is that the previous iterations were not subjected to the level of research, assessment, and scrutiny that the process currently requires,” he said.
Travelling with the premier and minister will be Jennifer Ahearn, chairwoman of the Integrated Solid Waste Management System Steering Committee, and Director of Environmental Health Roydell Carter.
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Another time and money wasting activity, designed to make it look like they are tackling the problem. Every administration claims that the previous iterations were not subjected to the level of research, assessment, and scrutiny that the process currently requires. This is why we so many tabled studies on this issue. And if he seriously wants us to believe that this will be the most comprehensive review of all those done-then clearly the others wasted public money, causing us to now spend more money we don’t have.
Deja Vu, didn’t they do the same thing the last time they were in office. Also why does Alden have go or even Ozzie for that matter. I thought that’s what the committee was formed for to come up with a solution and Ozzie wasn’t to be on it.